lavatory
Americannoun
plural
lavatories-
a room fitted with equipment for washing the hands and face and usually with flush toilet facilities.
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a flush toilet; water closet.
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a bowl or basin with running water for washing or bathing purposes; washbowl.
-
any place where washing is done.
noun
-
Also called: toilet. water closet. WC.
-
a sanitary installation for receiving and disposing of urine and faeces, consisting of a bowl fitted with a water-flushing device and connected to a drain
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a room containing such an installation
-
-
the washing place in a convent or monastic establishment
Etymology
Origin of lavatory
1325–75; Middle English lavatorie < Late Latin lavātōrium washing-place, equivalent to Latin lavā ( re ) to wash + -tōrium -tory 2
Explanation
A lavatory is a bathroom or a restroom. You should go to a restaurant's lavatory to wash your hands before dinner. Lavatory is a slightly formal way to say "bathroom." Most people would never refer to this room in their own homes as a lavatory, although they might use this word for public restrooms in schools, hospitals, or other buildings. In the U.K., a lavatory is just a toilet, and its earliest meaning was "washbasin," from the Latin root lavatorium, or "place for washing."
Vocabulary lists containing lavatory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the lavatory issues proved to just be a small inconvenience as the crew made history, travelling further from Earth than any other human had done before.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
One of the residents admitted to breaking the lavatory bowl in October 2023.
From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025
Investigators said that about midway through a Sept. 2, 2023, flight from Charlotte to Boston, the 14-year-old got up to use the main cabin lavatory nearest to her seat but found it was occupied.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 26, 2024
Mr. Fleurizard then made his way toward the back of the plane, and he went into a lavatory there, according to court records.
From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2024
So every half hour Turtle had to ask permission to go to the lavatory in order to keep up with the latest stock market reports.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
